New Girl
by WinterWinds16
Summary: Emma Harkwright has no other choice but to fit in amongst the misfit students of Bullworth Academy. In a place like this survival is key, and toughening up is law, so when Gary Smith offers to help her, how can she refuse? But something about him seems off, can she figure it out before it's too late? Rated M for language.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to Bullworth

Here they were. Bullworth Academy. She couldn't help but despise it already, because if what she had heard about this place was true, it was more like an asylum than a school.

"Stop scowling," Her mother snapped from the front passenger seat, looking at her daughter in the mirror as she pulled the wrinkled skin around her eyes back to smooth it out. "You will fit in just fine,"

"Uh huh…" Emma said sarcastically under her breath and she twiddled with a lock of her soft brown hair. She looked down at her clothes, expensive jeans, military boots and a slouchy tank top. In her old school back home she could wear her own clothes, she dreaded wearing a uniform here.

"Come along, we're late for our meeting the Principal as it is," Her father said, cracking open the drivers door and then letting his daughter out of the car. He then went to the trunk and cracked it open, yanking out her suitcases and dumping them on the pavement. "One of their Prefects should be along shortly to take your things darling,"

Emma nodded, taking in more of the building as she stepped out onto the pavement. She ran a hand through her hair, taking in the tall gates and the gigantic building, which had smaller island like buildings surrounding it. She assumed these were the dorms, one side female and the other male. The outside of the girl's side was much prettier than the boy's side. There blossomed newly planted flowers and was litter free, whereas the boys side seemed to have marbles strewn across the place, no flowers and skateboards and bits of paper here there and everywhere.

She could feel people staring at her as a broad looking man in a dark suit and a thin woman in a pencil skirt and heeled pumps approached them.

"Ah! You must be Mr and Mrs Harkwright, am I correct?" The woman greeted, as she waved for the bouncer, who Emma assumed was one of the Prefects, to run and collect her bags from outside the school grounds. "And you must be Emma,"

Emma simply stared back as her parents shook the slender woman's hand, who hadn't stopped smiling yet, before she gestured to the school.

"Welcome to Bullworth Academy! My name is Miss Danvers, and Dr. Crabblesnitch will be so pleased that you have arrived! Now, we shant keep him waiting any longer…" Miss Danvers eyes grew misty as she mentioned the Principal, and she lead the way towards the school with a dreamy look on her face. Emma saw a Prefect hauling her bags towards what, she was right in guessing to be, the girls dormitory.

Mr Crabblesnitch was a somewhat…uptight looking man. He stood up rigidly as Emma and her parents entered his office and he shook her father and mother's hands stiffly.

"Welcome to Bullworth Academy, Mr and Mrs Harkwright!" He glanced towards Emma who was gazing around his office, which was…remarkably decorated. He had dead animals hung up all around the room, reminding her of her father's office back home. She detested them, they made her feel uneasy. There were hundreds of books collecting dust on shelves, and brass and gold gleamed along his desk and the fine pieces of architecture. She sighed before meeting her new Principals gaze. "And you must be our new arrival, Miss Harkwright, hmm?"

Emma nodded, although she felt the answer was fairly obvious and already disliked being patronized by this man. She folded her arms and slouched slightly in her seat.

"Well, young lady, I believe you will fit in very well here! Here at Bullworth we pride ourselves on excellent behaviour, appearance and intelligence. Any students that attempt to hinder our crystal reputation is soon fixed and taken care of,"

Emma's father nodded approvingly, although Emma felt the way he spoke about 'fixing' students sounded kind of sick, and his comment on their 'crystal reputation' laughable. She raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow and felt like asking what he meant by 'fixed' but thought better to hold her tongue.

"Don't worry, Mr and Mrs Harkwright, your daughter will be in very good hands!" Mr Crabblesnitch exclaimed, and her parents look appeased before getting to their feet. "How about you go say goodbye to your parents at the school gates, Miss Harkwright, and then head to your dormitory to change into your school uniform. I trust you know where it is?"

Emma nodded, giving him a quick grateful smile before following her parents out of the school and to the gates.

"Well…let us know if you want to come back for the holidays, alright-"

"I'll be fine," Emma interrupted her mother, who looked relieved at her daughter's words. They stayed silent for a moment, before Emma's father gave her a strained smile.

"Enjoy yourself, darling. Call us if you have any problems," He place a hand on her shoulder and kissed her temple, but in a formal manner. She accepted the kiss but made no effort to reach in for a hug or anything. Her mother placed a hand on her cheek, but only a moment, and the contact felt so very false.

"Have a nice business trip." Emma said in an emotionless tone, and they thanked her before making their way out of the school grounds. Emma watched them get in the car and gave them a small wave, but didn't bother to watch them drive away, instead choosing to make her way to the girls dormitory.

Eyes followed her as she walked through the grounds, and she glared at anyone who she caught staring. Everyone's uniforms seemed very different, assorting them to clichéd groups and cliques within the school, obviously.

She entered the dormitory cautiously, and was immediately greeted by an elderly looking woman whose darkened grey hair was pulled into a severe bun. Her arms were folded and she was dressed in a white blouse, and a horribly old fashioned skirt.

"You must be Miss Harkwright, am I correct?" She demanded as soon as Emma stepped through the doors. Emma was getting sick of that question, if they knew who she was, why the hell ask?

"Yep," She said with a smile, but already this woman looked displeased. Her skin was wrinkled and haggard, and her mouth looked forever unsmiling.

"Not 'yep' girl, here in Bullworth we make sure girls acted like proper ladies. So when responding to an elder, you say 'yes ma'am', or 'yes miss', not 'yep', are we clear?" This woman was really pissing Emma off, all she wanted to do was have a wash and get changed, not be harassed by some broad, but she also didn't want to be sent to the principals office when she had only left it twenty minutes beforehand.

"Crystal," Emma nodded, but the woman raised an eyebrow and continued to stare at her. "Er, crystal clear _ma'am_,"

She nodded, appeased with her new victims answer.

"My name is Mrs Peabody, I monitor the girls dorm and also teach Home Economics. Now, I trust you have a uniform to change into?" She asked sternly, already seeming judgemental although Emma had had no opportunity to change yet, especially seeing as Mrs Peabody had stopped her before she'd even gotten to her room. Emma nodded, and she seemed to relax a little. "Well run along and change then, your room is on the second floor and the second door on the right. Your roommate might be there, so go get acquainted,"

Emma nodded, thanked her with a smile and walked down the pink corridor leading towards a set of stairs. She sighed walking up them, feeling tired of this place already, before walking up to her room. There were 'Bullworth' football team flags decorating the outside of the door, and a sigh in the shape of a heart with two words written on it.

Mandy & Katie's Room

Looked like her new roommate was Mandy then, and apparently she wasn't happy that 'Katie' was no longer in her room with her as her name was scribbled out in red…either that or she'd _killed _this Katie or something.

Emma gulped, and then knocked on the door out of politeness.

The door flew open, and there stood a girl. Tall, think with a pale complexion and perfect American girl skin. She was wrapped in a white towel, a matching towel on her head. She was already scowling, and sighed as she walked back into the room.

"I'm guessing you're that Emily girl everyone is talking about," She said, opening her wardrobe and rooting through it. Emma glanced at her clothes for a moment, and saw that over half of it was cheerleading outfits, all of them the same.

The room was large, with white walls and a pink carpet, and cream carpet in the centre. Girls clothing, obviously Mandy's, were strewn across the floor, and already Emma could see how different they were. The desk, instead of being covered with pieces of paper and a laptop for studying, had hundreds of make up items and perfume with moisturizers and creams. Emma wasn't an extremely girly person, sure she looked after herself, but she believed excessive use of make up was more to impress other people than for a girl to feel good about herself. She wore it for herself, not others.

One bed messily and unkempt, the other neatly made and untouched, with her two white suitcases placed on top. Mandy pulled out one of the cheerleading outfits and ventured over to her bed. Emma walked passed her, avoiding eye contact and began to open her bag and unpack with her back facing her new bestie. Mandy wondered to the chest of drawers and grabbed some underwear and a bra, and then stepped behind the pale blue screen that separated their beds and she dropped her towel and pulled them on.

"My name is actually Emma," Emma said quietly, looking around for another chest of drawers to put her things away.

"Whatever," Mandy dismissed flippantly. "There's an empty couple of drawers over there, and a little one in your beside table,"

Emma turned round and dared to throw this girl a surprised glance. Thankfully, she had pulled on the cheerleading outfit, and was now tugging on knee high socks.

"That's all the space I have for my stuff? What about some room in the wardrobe?" Emma tried not to sound demanding, she didn't want to make enemies, but she was tired and frustrated, and this girl clearly didn't want to be very welcoming. She raised an eyebrow as she pulled the towel from her head and let her wet shoulder length hair fall.

"It's pretty full, with all _my _stuff," She said sharply, then shrugged. "Can maybe fit a couple tops or skirts in there or something, I'm feeling generous so,"

Emma sighed, and decided not to argue. She already didn't like this brainless waste of space, but she wasn't going to fight her, not yet anyway.

"I see that someone else used to sleep in here," Emma began nervously, and turned to make eye contact with Mandy, whose hands were now tugging her hair into a high pony tail. She grabbed a ribbon from her bedside table, and tied it in a bow around her hair.

"Yep," Mandy began. "Not anymore,"

Mandy gave Emma one more once over, then walked out the room briskly. She tutted, then decided to unpack later, shoving everything she had taken out back into the case. She lifted her uniform which was placed on her pillow alongside her timetable and went into the bathroom, feeling unsafe in just the room as the door did not have a lock.

She locked the door in the bathroom and stripped down to her underwear, then assessed her new uniform. She had been given a few navy blue short skirts, some knee high white socks, several white shirts, a matching blue tie and a blue cardigan. Apparently there were variations of the Bullworth uniform, and she had just been given a random one, the only thing similar between the different uniforms was the matching Bullworth crest.

She tugged on the socks, one of the skirts and shirts, her tie and the cardigan. It fit her perfectly, thank God, she didn't really want to go and talk to the principal again. She looked in the bathroom mirror and took in her new appearance, her long legs elongated by the childish socks, and her mother had bought her some generic black school shoes to go with it. Instead of remaining in her uniform, she decided she would just go to bed, so stripped again and went back into her dorm to quickly collect some pyjamas. She picked up her other clothes and shoved them into her case on top of the folded items she had brought, then placed her other pairs of the uniform along with the one she had just tried on in one of the two empty drawers Mandy had 'kindly' offered her in the chest of drawers. She also saw that what sat on top were text books for her classes, so she placed them into the school bag she had brought with her, then she pulled on a pair of pink pyjama bottoms her mother had given her and a black tank top, shoved the cases off of the bed.

Emma grabbed her timetable, which would take effect the next day. It was only four o'clock, but she didn't feel like meeting anyone else or exploring, so put the piece of paper back beneath her pillow and snuggled beneath the covers. Thankfully the bed was spacious and comfortable, and the sheets seemed clean, so she closed her eyes, and let sleep take over.

…

The next day came all too quickly, and Emma woke up to the sound of Mandy's alarm clock. She opened her eyes immediately, her head throbbing slightly from having slept for sixteen hours. Obviously the trauma of arriving at this hell hole had taken all the energy from her body.

She heard a groan from behind the screen and a slam as Mandy shut off her alarm and didn't appear to get up. Emma shoved back the sheets, and got to her feet, her head spinning. She clumsily turned round and made her bed back into pristine condition, before walking across the room to get her uniform. She glanced over at a dozing Mandy, and gulped as she attempted to make conversation.

"Aren't you getting up?" She asked quietly, so Mandy could choose to ignore it and present to be asleep. An eye mask with an 'M' written in silver was strewn across her face.

"Nope. My first class is music, for Gods sake. I'm skipping, so if you don't mind…" She trailed off, sounding annoyed at Emma having the audacity to speak. Emma shrugged, and went back over to her suitcase, kicking it open and grabbing her toiletry bag and some fresh underwear before going into the bathroom.

They didn't have a shower, the dormitory had a communal one that the girls had to share and manage to share so they didn't have hordes of them in there each morning.. All the girls had was a toilet and two sinks with a wall full of mirrors. Emma decided she would shower later, opting to wash out of the sink instead. She'd come back at lunch or after classes when hopefully no one would be there.

She filled a basin full of water and used the other basin to brush her teeth, using her other hand to rip through the tangles in her silky brown hair with a comb. She then washed her face and body with a flannel, using a small towel to dry off. She moisturised her face and then pulled on her uniform. She put on a coat of mascara, but that was it. Her skin was clear, so she didn't need any excessive make up that day.

She sighed, assessing her appearance before zipping up her bag and picking up her pyjamas and shoving them into her still packed case. She got her timetable from beneath her pillow and saw that she had time to get breakfast before her first class of the day, which was English. She held in an exhalation of relief, at least she didn't have Music, because that would mean she was in Mandy's class.

She folded her timetable and slipped it into her pocket, picked up her school bag before leaving the room and her nasty little roommate behind.

She glanced at the door behind her, and looked at the sign. A creased piece of paper which had been ripped from a notebook had been pinned over Katie's name.

Mandy & Emily's

Emma scowled at it, before stalking out of the building.

…

The school's layout was not particularly complicated, and Emma found the cafeteria without much trouble. She blinked as she saw that it was mostly empty, apparently the students of Bullworth did not feel the need to get up early for breakfast, except a few youngsters and kids in green.

Emma walked to the display of food, and looked down. There was a cereal station, but it all looked rather stale and as if the same boxes of cereal was being used from months ago. A tank of bubbling porridge appeared to be giving off a slightly grey steam which smelt putrid. The fried food was no better, looking overcooked and frazzled. Emma grimaced at it, then approached the opposite side where fruit sat. It was only basic, apples and oranges kind of thing, but it looked like the freshest option.

"You must be the new girl, huh?" A dark, snarky voice said from behind her. Emma, and she felt her back tense up with irritation.

"I swear, if I hear one more person acknowledge me as the _new girl _I will set fire to this place," Emma snarled through gritted teeth, turning to face whoever the voice belonged to. She was faced with a boy of average size, a strong jaw and sloped nose, with brown hair that was messily styled to the side. A scar sliced through his eyebrow above his left eye, and his teeth were perfect and white. He wore a grey shirt with grey slacks and black shoes, and a teal vest. His collar was up slightly, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He was lean, but buff at the same time. His arms were folded, and he was giving her a smarmy look, his scarred eyebrow raised.

"Feisty," He sniggered. "I like it,"

"Ugh," Emma tutted, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl and walking passed this irritating boy. He turned and began to walk alongside her, until she stopped and turned to face him. "Look, I don't want to be rude, but why are you pestering me?"

"You're the new girl," He said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Your first few months here are like the initiation period."

"So everyone is going to start following me around?" Emma asked, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him. He smirked, but ignored her question.

"My name's Gary. Gary Smith," He greeted, holding out his hand. Emma gave him an unsure look, the exhaled and shook his hand, rubbing her apple against her skirt with the other.

"I'm Emma Harkwright, the 'new girl' as everyone keeps obviously pointing out," Emma stated bitterly as she dropped his hand. Gary gave her a once over, and then gestured around the room.

"Are you seriously getting breakfast here?" He gave her an unsure look and she shrugged.

"I was going to, but the fruit looks like the only thing that wouldn't give me a stomach virus," She wrinkled her nose in distaste, and he chuckled.

"I wouldn't put my money on it, the lunch lady is an ogre," He said, glancing back at the overweight, hairy woman who was snorting beside a boiling pot. Emma chose to avoid looking at her. "The food doesn't get any better after breakfast either, so I suggest take out and the vending machines,"

Emma nodded, and then gave him an unsure smile.

"And why are you talking to me, Smith? I'm the loser, the newbie, surely you don't want to be seen with an _outcast_," Emma laughed under her breath and he smirked.

"Every loser needs a chance I guess. What's your first class?" He asked, and she unfolded her timetable from her cardigan pocket, and then put it back.

"English, with Mr Galloway," She stated, and he gave her a cheeky smile.

"Ah, that drunken old fool," He chuckled under his breath, then placed his arm around her, walking them towards the exit. "Well it's your lucky day, Harkwright, looks like you're in my class. I'll go with you, and then show you around at lunch, how about that?"

Emma felt startled but just nodded. She wasn't going to say no to the only person she had gotten along with since she got here.

…

This Gary guy was really something.

He sat by her in English, despite her saying she would sit alone if he wanted to sit by his friends.

"Ha!" He'd given a short laugh. "Most people don't choose to sit by me, so the seats free new girl,"

Emma wanted to ask why, but felt that was too personal for this boy she had just met, so instead shrugged, shoved her bag on the floor, and sat down.

The English teacher staggered in a moment later, and the class fell into a restless quiet as he stumbled to his desk. Gary hadn't been joking when he joked about this guys 'little problem' but Emma felt a pang of sympathy for him as the students roared with laughter as he collapsed into his seat, knocking several items off of his desk.

"S-Sorry about that class," He stammered, adjusting himself in his seat, clearing his throat. Everyone could see the drunken gleam in his eyes, the way his lids drooped each time he blinked. His tie was askew and his dark hair that was greying at the roots was a complete mess. This guy looked like a complete waster.

"Hammington, come hound out these sheets," Mr Galloway said to a blonde boy in a blue chequered sweater. He sighed and got to his feet, grabbing the sheets from the desk and tossing them at his classmates with distaste. "It's a bunch of jumbled letters, make words out of them, blah blah blah,"

Mr Galloway pulled a flask from inside his blazer, flicked open the lid and took a swig before shoving it back into the pocket and running his hands over his haggard face.

Emma looked down at her sheet, and didn't really see how this was teaching her anything at all. Surely this is work little kids did?

"Wondering why it's mind numbingly easy work?" Gary asked her, grinning yet again. She glanced at him; he seemed to read her easily, so she shrugged. "Well, he's drunk most of the time, what do you expect from him, an actual _lesson plan_?"

"You're a pretty cynical guy, huh?" Emma queried, and Gary snorted but didn't reply, choosing to sit back and ignore the pathetic work on his desk. Emma got down to work, scrawling words out of the letters provided. She felt tired and bored just doing the work.

The lesson dragged, but it eventually did end, two hours of doing basically nothing could really take it out of a person. Emma had finished the jumbled words after twenty minutes, but Mr Galloway did not hand out anymore work and allowed the students to chat as loud as they pleased whilst he took gulps from his pocket flask.

"Ah, lunch," Gary sighed from behind her, then nodded to his left. "Let's go back to the cafeteria, shall we?"

"I thought you said the food sucked?" Emma wondered, and he smiled at her ignorance.

"It doesn't just suck, its life threatening," He said dramatically, then shook his head. "I'm not taking you there to eat newbie, just follow me,"

Emma glared at the back of his head, but followed him back to the cafeteria where a foul smell floated from the kitchen. She wrinkled her nose as Gary came to a stop at the top of the stairs.

"Okay…care to explain Smith?"

"You really are feisty, aren't you?" Gary grinned at her again with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the doorframe. She ignored him, folding her arms. "Basically, princess, this is the best place I can show you the main cliques. I showed another new kid this the other day. Teach him the ropes; don't think the idiot got it into his thick skull though,"

"There's another new kid?" Emma wondered and Gary nodded.

"Yeah, came a few days before you. Jimmy Hopkins, a wannabe badass," Gary snorted with laughter, then nodded towards the lunch tables, one containing some overweight and scrawny kids in green jumpers and vests.

"That one belongs to the nerds, the losers and social outcasts. However, they're sneaky little fuckers, don't let their piss stains and broken glasses fool you," He pointed out the table beside it. "The preps, trust fund assholes that live off of their parents living and screw their relatives,"

Emma's eyes widened and Gray looked at her with humour sparkling in his brown eyes.

"Over by the cafeteria line is the Greasers and their girl Lola, they're pretty quirky characters," Emma looked at the burly guys in leather jackets, with a petite red head whose laugh could be heard over all the chatter, a lean good looking Greaser had his arm wrapped around her waist. Gary nodded towards a gaggle of boys in white shirts. "They're your typical group of bullies; they pick on the nerds mostly,"

Emma glanced towards the last table, where Mandy sat.

"Ah, the jocks and their groupies?" Emma queried and Gary grinned.

"Very good, newbie. Yep, they're the jocks, don't mess with them, the boys are stupid but strong and the girls are bitchy and ruthless-"

"Ha, you're telling me, Mandy is my roommate," Emma scowled and her new best friend laughed loudly.

"Jesus, you really pulled the short straw there," He continued to chuckle, and then pushed himself off of the wall. "Well, that's everyone, I've got to go back to my dorm now, but I can show you the rest later,"

Emma shrugged and gave him a small smile, so he leaned in so he could speak to her quietly. Emma could smell the aftershave coming off of his neck, but she ignored it.

"Good luck, new girl. You're gonna need it," He laughed at the look on her face, then strolled off, leaving her confused and completely uncertain.


	2. Chapter 2

Watch Out

Emma had biology second, and Gary was nowhere to be seen despite his name being called on the register. They spent the next two hours slicing into a frog, and Emma felt her complexion turn green as she cut into its tough flesh.

By the end of the lesson Emma felt well and truly sick, and did not want to get anything to eat despite not eating properly since before she had got there.

She walked back to her dormitory instead, deciding she would have a shower and pray that none of the other girls were using it.

Thankfully, none of them were, many of them going down to the carnival in town or some of the 'nerds' remaining in the library. Emma enjoyed the shower, grateful that the water was hot and refreshing. She scrubbed vanilla scented shampoo into her hair, glossing it through and watching the suds flood into the drain. She washed her horrible first day away, trying not to think of the oddly attractive boy that had introduced her to the ways of Bullworth.

She got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body and flipped her hair into another. She yawned and walked down the hall to her room, and was shocked to find Mandy lying on her bed, flicking through a magazine.

"Oh, hey," Emma attempted politeness, but Mandy ignored her and continued to mindlessly read her magazine, causing Emma to scowl. She grabbed some underwear from her case and the pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. She threw her towel into the hamper and kept the other on her head as she dragged her cases on her bed, deciding to unpack.

"I saw you hanging out with Gerry Smith today," Mandy admitted, stilling not looking up from her magazine. Emma glanced around the screen to look at her, eyebrow raised.

"It's Gary," Emma tutted, realising her pathetic ability to even remember other people's names. "And yeah? So what?"

Mandy put her magazine down on her stomach and gave Emma an exasperated look.

"Yeah, whatever," Mandy began. "Well…I don't wanna piss all over your nice sparkly new friendship, but you should watch out for that guy,"

Emma stood there, her clothes clutched in her hand ready to be put away. Emma waited for elaboration, and gave her a questioning look when Mandy didn't offer one.

"I heard that he's a little freak," Mandy whispered, as if other people were in the room. "Like, he has ADD or something and is on meds,"

"So someone with ADD is a freak to you?" Emma asked, placing her clothes in the drawers. Mandy rolled her eyes. "Word of advice _roomie_, don't believe everything you hear,"

"Whatever, don't say I didn't warn you if he goes crazy on your ass," She snapped opening her magazine again and ending the conversation. Emma laughed under her breath, shaking her head at her arrogant, bitchy attitude, before finishing her packing.

…

Her first lesson that day was chemistry, which Mandy was in. Gary's name was not called out, and Emma felt a flicker of disappointment but ignored it. Unfortunately, Mandy was assigned as Emma's lab partner. That was another annoying thing; it was like this school was out to get her already.

The class was insane. The chemistry teacher, Mr Watts, didn't seem to have a clue what he was talking about and simply insisting they chuck a load of random chemicals together and see what happens. Mandy just stared at Emma the entire time as if she were a lost child, eyes wide.

"We'll mix the safer chemicals…I'm not much of a scientist but I know what's safe and what isn't," Emma shrugged, grabbing a clear liquid which had a 'safe' symbol on the front and pouring it into a beaker above a Bunsen burner. Nothing happened, except a few air bubbles which vanished within seconds and were replaced by new ones. Mandy grew bored of this, wishing to see pretty colours or explosions.

"This guy isn't exactly teaching us anything! I'm not mixing anything that could be dangerous, alright? Unless you think you would like not having any eyebrows," As soon as Emma suggested this, Mandy threw her hand over the top half of her face and looked horrified, but it kept her quiet for the rest of the lesson.

When that torturous two hours was over, Emma decided to wander around the grounds, ignoring her growling stomach. She'd go to town and get some food after her next class, which was Art. She wasn't risking any of _Edna_'_s _home made stew.

The grounds were quite appealing, but a tad bland. The gates made it feel oddly like a mental home, as did the students and staff. The bullies were stereotypically violent and unintelligent, the jocks cared about nothing but sex and bashing their heads together in some strange bonding ritual before a game, the nerds were typically quivery and enjoyed cyber worlds filled with elves and warlocks etc, the cheerleaders cared about their looks and who was the most attractive as well as making the conventionally less attractive girls feel bad about themselves, the greasers were basically Danny from _Grease_ except a lot more violent.

She felt like she was in some cheesy American comedy that exaggerated every stereotype that had ever been made, and it created a sad feeling of…loneliness within her. She didn't belong to any of these groups, she was by herself entirely, and no one seemed to want to reach out to her.

Suddenly, tearing away from a burly pair of prefects was a shaven haired boy with cold blue eyes. He was burly, but rather short, and was sweating from his forehead downwards. He kept glancing behind himself, making sure the prefects didn't catch up to him, and Emma didn't realise just how fast he was running until he looked away from her direction again, and he was racing into her.

They both fell to the floor with a thud, and her lower back throbbed as his weight crushed her slightly.

"Shit," He hissed in her ear, and she saw that his shaven hair was a pale shade of ginger, shining in the sun. "Sorry,"

Emma waved away his apology, wincing from her wounded side. The prefects fell to a halt at their feet, and the trouble maker regained his balance before helping her up. He glanced behind him, then shrugged and laughed.

"You got me boys," He replied sarcastically. He backed away into the prefects, before glancing back at Emma. "My name's Jimmy by the way. Jimmy Hopkins,"

Emma nodded.

"Emma, Emma Harkwright," She gave him and sweet smile, and a faint pink blush rose in his cheeks before the prefects began to slowly lower their hands to his shoulders-

In one swift movement, he used both elbows and thrashed them into their stomachs, making them double over with pain. He waved to Emma, and began to run off again, back the way he came.

"See you later, Emma!" He called back, and Emma smiled.

Perhaps she had spoken too soon. Perhaps she could make friends here.

…

Gary leaned against a wall beside the boy's dormitory, well hidden and unnoticeable. He liked that, being a mystery to people. People didn't question him, they didn't approach him and that's how he wanted it.

He watched the new addition to his victims charging away from a couple of prefects. Ah, Hopkins. So reckless, so stupid, and yet he always managed to escape. This wasn't enough to impress Gary, however, the fact he got caught is enough to evoke disappointment.

He watched her charge into his other little project; Miss Harkwright. She'd fallen to the ground with a clatter, long legs strewn out in front of her, shirt and sweater riding up to expose a toned, flawless stomach. He grinned, she was incredibly attractive, and what made her even more attractive was the fact she didn't _try _to be…she barely applied any make up and yet still had bright eyes that made him want to learn more about her and a body that he pretty much wanted to touch all over.

Gary wasn't a pervert by any stretch of the imagination. He had a lot of sex, and the girls around school were hardly difficult to get around. Seductive glance here, a couple of charming compliments there and in a wink they were in his bed, naked. None of these girls ever told anyone, because everyone knew Gary Smith was the school psycho, and on the outside he appeared to be an outcast, pushed out by the other students, but if anyone bothered to look closer they'd see that he'd banged the majority of the female students, even cheerleaders, even Mandy, who attempted to make out he was 'beneath her', but she was no exception. He didn't expose any of them, but simply smiled at them when he passed them, letting them fear that one day he would expose their sexual endeavours. Despite their fear of exposure, they always came back for more, and Gary liked that they were scared of him, that's what made it all the more appealing.

But this girl, this girl was different. She wasn't desperate for attention or trying to fit in, in fact, she was a lone wolf, trying to make it on her own.

Not to mention she had an ass like a peach.

He shook his head in pity as Jimmy clambered away from Emma, yammering out an introduction before using his oversized head to charge past the prefects again. Clearly, Jimmy had noticed this girl's appearance too.

Gary decided a little fun was needed.

"Harkwright!" He exclaimed, breaking out from the shadows into daylight and approaching the girl who had just turned to walk away. She faced him, an unsure smile on her face, and he grinned. She did have a pretty face, with dark hair that framed her face and made her eyes sparkle and her lashes seem longer and fuller. Her lips were perfect, and he grinned to himself as he imagined it in various places.

"Hello Gary," She greeted, her fingertips playing with her short skirt. He gestured with his head to the school exit.

"Wanna get outta here?" He asked, and her eyes filled with confusion.

"I can't, I have Photography after lunch," She gestured towards the building, and he snorted.

"Photography? Really? You run around school and take pictures of windows or flags, trust me, you won't be missing much and Ms. Philips won't give a shit," He encouraged. "Trust me, I'm supposed to have that too and she never notices I'm not there, and I still manage to get an A!"

He holds back the information that the reason he get's A's in her Art and Photography class is because he once had sex with her on her desk, so its either fear of being caught her he was just particularly good that day.

"But…I've never skipped a class before," She worries, biting that lump lip of hers, and Gary stares at her pearly white teeth before laughing.

"There's a first time for everything then, come on Harkwright, live a little," He calls to her, starting towards the exit slowly so she can catch up.

Emma stands there for a moment, unsure, before she finds herself following Gary out of the grounds.

…

"I'm really worried that we're going to get caught," Emma pondered, nibbling on her bottom lip anxiously. Gary rolled his eyes and gazed at her from behind his shoulder.

"Chill out, Harkwright," He scoffed, leading the way as they ventured into town. "It's not a big deal, stop freaking out."

"I'm just saying… have you ever been caught?" Emma asked, attempting to catch up with his long strides.

"A few times," He shrugged. "Blackmailed them with some secrets I knew about them and they left me alone right away…that worked with the Prefects anyway, bit more tricky if the police catch you-"

"_Police_?! What d'you mean the police?!" Emma stopped in her tracks, her bright, glittering eyes wide as she stared at the back of his head.

"Don't worry…they just patrol the town and sometimes pick up students if they know they should be in class and it isn't lunch or anything," He beckoned her to carry on walking again, and she did although it was with reluctance.

"I can't believe I'm doing this with you," He slowed down so they could walk side by side, and tutted.

"Honestly, wouldn't think you're a teenager," He rolled his eyes. "You're supposed to want to make your Daddy mad and your Mommy cry because you're just so rebellious and won't just _follow _the path they've made for you,"

"My parents haven't made a path for me," She snapped, glowering at him, and he gave her a simply amused look, which angered her more. "My parents don't really care what I get up to,"

"Ah…" He sighed as if in sudden realisation. "_That's _why you don't rebel then, because no one gives a shit if you do or not,"

"Is that why you do it then? To get some attention?" She smirked, and he threw her a dirty look.

"No, not exactly. I do it because I can and I want to, I don't get caught, and if I do I can get out of it," He boasted proudly and she rolled her eyes behind his head, finding him pompous and arrogant already. They fell silent, and Emma began to wonder if perhaps Mandy had been right, perhaps he was bad news.

…

He took her to the beach, where a cabin stood up atop a platform right in front of the rolling sea. Emma panted slightly, trying to keep up with the broad shouldered boy who was strides ahead of her. He tutted at her slow, careful step's, and in frustration grabbed her hand and hurled her forward. She gasped as his fingers interlocked with hers and he dragged her alongside him, and her cheeks flushed with both frustration and surprise.

Before she could say anything, he released her and they were in front of the cabin. He turned round and made eye contact with her, burning brown meeting hers, and he suddenly noticed what colour they were. He always knew that they sparkled, but without the help of natural daylight, they looked almost black, but with the suns assistance he could see that they were one of the deepest blues he had ever seen, with flecks of pale blue surrounding her pupil. He cleared his throat, slightly thrown off by the intensity of her gaze.

"Err…let me do the talking, the preps can be quite hot headed when they want to be, and this is their turf," He said, turning back to the door and knocking on it.

A few moments later a blonde haired boy in a blue sweater answered the door, his eyebrows were black, and his eyes were a pale shade of brown. He was attractive, but already Emma could feel a sense of pompousness and superiority.

"What in heavens are you doing here?" The blonde snapped, and Gary raised a scarred eyebrow. "We don't allow riff raff into out little cabin,"

"Well, well, well looks whose showing off, yet again _Harrington_," Gary snorted a laugh, folding his arms. "Perhaps we could have this conversation with Pinky and your _dear _friend Chuck. I heard you and him have got rather close?"

Emma glanced between the two as the colour drained from the blonde boys face. She couldn't keep up with whatever it was that they were talking about, but it seemed to have this boy, whose accent was so horribly fake it made her ear drums throb, shaking with fear and nervousness. Whatever Gary had used against this boy, it made him step aside immediately.

"Thanks very much, Derbs, old chap!" Gary grinned, pretending to tip an invisible hat at the alarmed boy and clapping him on the shoulder. The blonde closed his eyes with frustration but held his tongue.

Emma followed him inside and tugged on his elbow, forcing him to move closer to her and listen.

"What the hell was all that? What did you use against that guy? Who _is _that guy?" Emma asked in frustration, and he chuckled at her harsh voice. He placed a hand on her shoulder, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Calm down, Harkwright. I'll explain once these losers leave," He announced the last part loudly, gesturing towards Derby and his friends who had just entered the room, pool cues in their hands, a small, dark haired boy and a slightly taller boy with red hair. Their eyes widened at their visitors presence, and scowls appeared on their mouths.

"What on earth is this pair of vermin doing here-"

"Bif," Derby snarled at the red head. "Do shut up, and let's go,"

"B-But Derby-"

"Don't argue with me! Parker, Bif, let's get out of here." Derby hissed, glancing at Gary before storming out the front door. His friends blinked and stared after him, then looked at Gary with confused gazes, before dropping their pool cues and racing after their leader.

The door swung shut behind them, and Emma turned to face Gary, hands on her hips and accusation raging in her eyes.

"Explain, now." She demanded, and he smiled at her aggressive tone, before reclining back on the couch. He patted the spot beside him, eyes on her, but she stood firm, not wanting to relax before he told her what had just happened. He sighed, rolling his eyes.

"It's not a big deal, Harkwright," He shrugged. "I've got dirt on Harrington and used it to get hold of his cabin, you were worried about getting caught by the police and here…we won't,"

Emma glared at him, and he paused, before smiling at her again.

"You're welcome,"

"What _dirt_ is bad enough to make that guy nearly wet himself?" She hissed at him, folding her arms.

"Derby Harrington is the leader of the preps and possibly the richest kid in school, he is dating his cousin, Pinky-"

"Wait…his _cousin_?" Emma's face contorted with disgust, and Gary nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yep, it's tradition amongst the preps. They're expected to get married when they're older, pretty much a contract between the families. It's the norm," Gary shrugged, and then continued. "Anyway, both Pinky and Derbs are pretty serious about their reputations, but just the other week I saw Harrington behind the gym with one of those kids who wander around in the jeans and white shirts? One by the name of Chuck…and let's just say I caught them in quite the compromising position. They didn't see me there so I took a couple pictures of them, but just _telling _him I'd seen was enough to make him clam up, must be a pretty tight lipped secret,"

"That's repulsive," Emma growled. "How could you blackmail him with something like that? That could humiliate him and is absolutely _none_ of your business-"

"Have I actually told anyone other than you about it, Harkwright?" Gary hissed. "No. So get off your high horse and relax. I'm not planning to tell anyone unless Hammington gets too big for his boots, which I doubt he will now that he knows that _I _know,"

"Is this what you do?" Emma asked, disgust all over her face. Gary leaned back into the couch, not opening his mouth. "Use people's secrets against them to get what you want?"

"That's how Bullworth works, sweet cheeks," He snorted at her, elongated the nickname so it sounded dirty. She glowered at him. "You could have left at any point, but you haven't,"

"I'm leaving now, I just wanted an explanation," Emma snapped, before turning on her heels and making for the door. Gary got up and grabbed her wrist, tugging her back roughly. She snatched her hand away from him, shock in her eyes. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

His eyes widened at her, and he tried to scan his mind for something smooth to say that could hopefully salvage this situation…but he couldn't. He hadn't expected a reaction like this, not at all, he'd simply expected her to accept his blackmailing of Derby and be done with it, and everyone else was so accustomed to using one another's secrets it didn't occur to him that she would care.

"Mandy, I hate to say it, was completely right about you," She hissed, rage brightening her eyes up, and he felt himself staring at them again. "Stay away from me."

She turned around, and made for the door before he stepped forward and called her name, causing her to turn her head slightly.

"Do you even remember the way back?" He asked, and she froze slightly. "And you were worried about the police, you might get caught."

Emma gave him a filthy look, before swinging open the door.

"That's better than spending anymore time with you."

She slammed the door behind her, leaving him reeling, before he felt a smile slowly spread on his face.

He _definitely_ wanted her.


End file.
